Sewing-machine ruffler.



C. STAFFORD.

SEWING MACHINE RUFFLER. I

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31. 1913.

1,223,632. Patented Apr. 24,1917.

gwm m /1 WI T NE 8858.

%w%@ 5. 6%? arm A TTORNEY n15 Nonnls PEYERS c0 PnoYu-Llrno WASNINb 1cm. 0 c.

CHARLES STAFFORD, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPQRATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SEWING-MACHINE RUFFLER.

Application filed July 31, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Rufflers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has for its object to provide a sewing machine ruftling attachment with means whereby spaces of varying lengths and at different intervals apart may be interposed between the ruffles, the lengths and distances apart of such spaces being adjustable according to the style of ruflling desired.

In its preferred form, the improvement is embodied in that class of ruiller comprising a frame upon which is pivotally mounted an operating lever carrying an actuating pawl adapted for engagement with a shoulder of a swinging lever pivotally connected to the carrier on which the ruffling blade is mounted. The pawl is provided in practice with a lateral extension adapted to engage the peripheral teeth of varying depths of a pattern-wheel in the form of a ratchet-wheel by means of which the point of the pawl is directed into or out of operative engagement with the shoulder of said swinging lever to control the transmission of the vibratory movement of the operating lever to the ruffiing blade, whereby the frequency of action of the ruffling blade is determined. According to the present invention, the controlling ratchet-wheel is preferably provided with peripheral ratchet-teeth of uniform depth throughout, provision being made for partially filling up the intervening spaces individually by pawl-lifting or supporting elements to effect the direction of the actuating pawl out of alinement with the shoulder of said swinging lever so as to cause the ruffling blade to miss an operative movement at such point. l/Vhile the pawl-lifting elements are preferably constructed separately so as to provide the greatest scope of adjustment of the character of the operative portion of the ratchet-wheel, it is obvious that two or more of such lifters may be formed integral or connected together to control a corresponding number of controlling portions of the ratchet-wheel.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rufiling attachment Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Serial No. 782,201.

constructed in accordance with the present improvement, and Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same taken from the opposite side. Fig. 3 is aplan of the attachment. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional plan view of certain parts of the attachment upon an enlarged scale,.and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the actuating pawl, the pattern-wheel, and the swinging lever engaged by said pawl.

The frame comprises the vertical plate 1 from the rearward portion of which laterally eXtends the foot member 2 rearward of which is the laterally socketed shank 3 for attachment to the presser-bar of a sewing machine. In the upper portion of its operative end the frame member 1 sustains a fulcrumpin embraced by an apertured end of the operating lever 5 having at its opposite end the fork 6 adapted to engage a suitable abutment, such as that afl'orded by the needle-clamp screw of the needle-bar of a sewing. machine, which imparts one vibratory movement of the lever for each reciprocation of the needle-bar.

The operating lever carries intermediate its ends the studpin 7 entering an aperture in the recessed boss 8 of the actuating pawl 9 and surrounded by a spring 10 within said boss having its ends connected respectively with the latter and with said lever. The pawl 9 has in its outer portion a slot 9 embracing the stop-pin 11 carried by the lever 5, and is provided at its outer extremity with the lateral lip 12 having the extension 13 for engagement respectively with ,the controlling ratchet-wheel ,and the lifting elements moving therewith.

Mounted upon the fulcrum-pin 4 is the swinging lever 14: whose hub portion is provided with the shoulder 15 for engagement with the lip 12 of the pawl. The lever 14 is provided intermediate its ends with the laterally offset segmental arm 16 and is pivotally connected at its lower end by means of the pin or rivet 17 with the arm 18 of the rattling-blade carrier which is provided with a lateral blade-supporting member 19 to which is secured by usual or suitable means a rufliing blade 20. The arm 18 is slidingly sustained by a guide-loop 21 having a foot 22 secured to the side of the frame-plate 1 by means of the rivet 23. The ruflling blade derives operative or ruffle-producing movements from the operating lever through the engagement of the actuating pawl with the shoulder 15 of the swinging lever 14, which latter is retracted in a manner well known by engagement of the extremity of its arm 16 with the point of the screw 24 journaled in the threaded boss 25 of the operating lever and frictionally held against turning by means of the angular spring-plate 26 secured in position upon the lever 5 by means of the stud-pin 7.

Pivotally mounted uponthe frame-plate 1 by means of the stud-pin 27 entering the aperture 28 is the bearing plate 29 carrying the fulcrum-stud 30 upon which are mounted the ratchet-wheel 31 provided with uniform peripheral teeth 32 and the disk 33 having its rim portion provided with threaded transverse apertures within each of which is fitted a screw-pin 34 having a head 35 and a reduced and unthreaded 0-pposite end 36. The disk 33 thus constitutes a rotary carrier for the pawl-supportmg or lifting elements mounted for independent adjustment thereon. The disks 31 and 33 with the interposed washer 37 are pressed together by means of the cupped springwasher 38 interposed between the head of the fulcrum pin 30 and the disk 33, and such parts are locked to turn in unison by means of the transverse pin 39.

By turning the screws 34 their reduced extremities, constituting the pawl-supporting or lifting elements, may be extended into or retracted from the inner portions of the notches between the ratchet-teeth 32. When these lifting elements are retracted, the extension 13 of the pawl-lip is permitted to descend sufiiciently to enable the pawl element 12 to engage the shoulder 15 of the lever 14 to impart an operative movement to the rufliing blade; but when the bottoms of the notches between the ratchet-teeth are 00 cupied by the elements 36, the pawl is no permitted to drop sufficiently in its opera tive movement imparted by the rise of the;

thereby producing an interruption of the normal rufiiing action.

The disks or wheels 31 and 33, with the parts carried by the latter, together constitute a pattern-wheel of which the precise form is not material to the present improvement in its broader aspect. As will be observed, the controlling parts of this composite member are the pawl-supporting or lifting elements 36 which are adjustable into and out of the path of movement of the actuating pawl or a part carried thereby, and may receive their requisite cycle of movement by any suitable means which need not be a ratchet-wheel such as that shown in the drawings. While the elements 36 are represented in the drawings as portions of screws 34 employed for supporting and shifting them relatively to the actuating pawl, it is evident that they may be otherwise sustained and shifted into and out of operative relation with the actuating pawl without departure from the present invention.

The bearing plate 29 is shown formed with a lateral ear 40 to which is secured by means of the rivet 41 a spring formed with the detent-arm 42 having a nose 43 entering the peripheral notches 44 of the disk 33 and a second detent-arm 45 having the inwardly projecting nose 46 extending through a notch in said bearing plate and adapted to enter one of the two slots 47 in the frame plate 1. The detent arm 42 serves to prevent the overthrow or retraction of the disk 33 under the action of the pawl 9, and the detent-arm 45 serves to lock the bearing plate in one of two extreme positoins in which the pawl-controlling member is sustained respectively in and out of operative relation with the pawl 9.

Pivotally attached to the frame member 1 by means of the pin 48 and spring-washer 49 is the arm 50 of the carrier 51 to which is secured the separatorblade 52. The upturned flange 2 of the presser-foot member 2 has secured to its rear face by means of 1 the fastening screw 53 the shank 54 of the spring-shoe 55 and the lateral flange 56 of an arm 57 carrying the tape-guide 58.

In the use of the attachment the lifting elements 36 are set in such positions upon the carrier-disk 33 that the actuating pawl 9 will be permitted to impart operative impulses to the lever 14 at the requisite intervals to produce the desired spacing apart of the ruffles. In the present embodiment, the

vjratchet-wheel 31 is provided with twelve 'teeth and the carrier-disk 33 has a like umber of pawl-lifting elements 36 of *hich every fourth one is shown retracted hile the others are in operative or pawlupporting positions, whereby one ruffling :;f1mpulse will be produced for each three vioperating lever 5 to engage the shoulder 15,

bratory movements of the operating lever.

.;:[In the rising movement of the lever 5, the pawl element 13 rides down the inclined edges of the ratchet-teeth until the element 1.2 encounters the shoulder 15 of the swingare ing lever 14, in case the element 13 encounill? ters no obstruction, but in the latter case by its engagement with the projecting portion 36 of the pin 34 moving in a path of larger radius the pawl is sustained above its normal arcuate path of reciprocation suliiciently to escape engagement with the shoulder 15, thereby producing an interruption of the ruflling action.

lVhile the elements 36 are shown in the drawings projecting into the clearance notches between the ratchet-teeth 32, it is evident that they have no direct relation with such notches, their position being cletermined by the form of the part of the actuating pawl designed to engage the same.

As will be readily understood the function of the ratchet-wheel is merely to provide a means of rotating the carriage-disk 33, while that of the lifting elements 36 is to control the effective operation of the pawl in performing its normal function. The endwise adjustable pins 34 35 36 may evidently be provided with any suitable means of shifting them between and maintaining them in or out of controlling relation with the actuating pawl 9.

In certain classes of work it is sometimes desired to produce a ruflie pattern comprising similarly or diiferently spaced groups of ruffles of difl'erent numbers, or groups of ruffles of corresponding number equally or differently spaced apart. According to the present improvement as represented in the accompanying drawings, the endwise adjustable pins 34 85 36 are adapted to be set each independently of the others in the required position upon the carrying disk 33 whereby groups of ruflies of any desired number and any desired spacing apart may be produced during a rotation or cycle of movement of the carrier-disk. It will be observed that the adjustment of these pins transversely to their normal direction of operative movement permits the maintenance of an initial spacing apart which is permanent in the sense that the pins remain undisturbed in their circumferential positions upon the disk 33 regardless of the frequency of rutfling impulses for which they are set.

While an effective embodiment of the present improvement is shown and described herein, it is obvious that the rufl'le controlling device is susceptible of very material modification and of embodiment in difierent types of rutfling devices without departure from the scope of the present invention.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is 1. In a rufliing attachment, a ruflling blade, an operating lever adapted to be reciprocated, and operative connections be tween said blade and said operating lever for imparting rutfling movements to the blade, said operative connections including a carrier making a complete cycle of movement during a plurality of reciprocations of the operating lever and being provided with a plurality of controlling elements in spaced relation and adjustable without removal from the carrier to vary the frequency of movement of the ruflling blade.

2. In a sewing machine rufller, the combination with a ruffling blade, an operating lever, a pawl pivotally mounted thereon, and a member connected with said ruifling blade and adapted for operative engagement by said pawl, of a carrier, controlling elements mounted upon and independently adjustable on said carrier and adapted to control the relation of the pawl with said member whereby they may be prevented from engagement in certain operative movements of the pawl.

3. In a sewing machine rufller, the combination with a rutfling blade, a member connected therewith and provided with a shoulder, an operating lever, and a pawl connected with and deriving operative movements from said lever and having a path of normal movement embracing said shoulder, of a plurality of independently adjustable controlling elements movable in unison in a path intersecting that normally traversed by said pawl and adapted to periodically deflect said pawl out of its said path.

4. In a sewing machine rufl'ler, the combination with a rutfling blade, a member connected therewith and provided with a shoulder, an operating lever, and a pawl connected with and deriving operative movements from said lever and having a path of normal movement embracing said shoulder, of a plurality of relatively adjustable controlling elements movable in unison in a path intersecting that normally traversed by said pawl and adapted to periodically deflect said pawl out of its said path, a ratchet-wheel in permanent operative relation with said pawl, and a plurality of controlling elements moving with said ratchet-wheel and adapted to assume operative relation with said pawl to deflect it from its normal path of movement, provision being made for shifting certain of said controlling elements into and out of operative relation with said pawl.

5. In a sewing machine ruflier, the combination with a ruffling blade, an operating lever, a pawl pivotally mounted thereon, and a member connected with said rufliing blade and adapted for operative engage- .ment by said pawl, of a rotary carrier, a

series of endwise adjustable transverse pins mounted in said carrier and each adapted for movement in a path within and out of supporting relation with said pawl, and means for imparting a partial rotary movement to said carrier for each operative movement of said lever.

6. In a sewing machine ruifler, the combination with a rufliing blade, an operating lever, a pawl pivotally mounted thereon, and a member connected with said rufliing blade and adapted for operative engagement by said pawl, of a rotary carrier, a series of endwise adjustable transverse pins mounted in said carrier and each adapted for movement in a path within and out of supporting relation with said pawl, and a ratchet-wheel having a driving connection with said carrier and disposed in continuous driving relation with said pawl.

7. In a sewing machine rufller, the combination with a rutfling blade and an operating lever, of a connection between the same for imparting to the ruffling blade cperative movements of the same frequency as those of the operating lever, and automatically acting means including a plurality of controlling elements having a fixed spacing apartv adapted to act upon a member of said connection forrendering the latter ineffective, provision being made for the adjustment of said controlling members in a plurality of operative groups with intermediate inoperative elements whereby a series of differently spaced ruffles may be produced in each cycle of movement of said carrier.

8. In a sewing machine rufiler, the combination with a ruffiing blade, an operating lever, and a pawl p-ivotally' mounted thereon, of a member connected with said rufiiing blade and adapted for operative engagement by said pawl, a ratchet-Wheel also adapted for engagement by said pawl, and a plurality of controlling elements operatively connected with said ratchet-wheel andeach adjustable into and out of operative relation with said pawl and adapted to control the path of movement of the latter relatively to said member.

9-. In a sewing machine ruflier, the combination with a ruffling blade, an operating lever, a pawl pivotally mounted thereon, and a member connected with said ruffling blade and adapted for operative engage- Gopies of this patent may. be obtained for ment by said pawl, of a ratchet-wheel arranged in continuous operative relation with said pawl, a carrier-disk connected with and partaking of the movements of said ratchet-wheel, and a plurality of screwpins mounted upon and transversely adjustable in said carrier-disk in such manner that their extremities are adapted to be projected within or retracted from the normal path of movement of said pawl.

10. In a ruffling attachment, a ruffiing blade, an operating lever adapted to be reciprocated, and operative connections between said blade and operating lever for imparting rufliing movements to the blade, said operative connections including a carrier and movable therewith a ratchet-wheel having teeth, a pawl, said carrier being provided with adjustable means for filling a plurality of spaces between teeth to render said pawl ineffective as an operative connection at. predetermined times whereby the frequency of movement of the rufliing blade may be varied.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES STAFFORD.

Witnesses:

. LEONARD E. FISCHER,

HENRY A. KORNEMANN, Jr.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents walhington, D. 0. 

